g_murray

I decided to spend my Saturday morning removing and totally cleaning the wheels. After jacking up the rear left (coz that part of the car was in the shade!) I discovered that the rear suspension was NOT as it should be.
:-(
It looked like the locking collar on the shock had NOT done its job and the shock connector had (as I drove the car) 'swung around' causing shear-stress on the rear-sway-bar link. Net result, the upper connector separated leaving the connector to flap in the breeze.
Unfortunately the 'bolt' of what was left of the upper connector - each time the shock was compressed - cut a groove into the aluminum of the upper suspension. :-(((((
Right now my car is off the road until I get this fixed.

Here's the pix:

http://ifly.freeyellow.com/miscell/b...sted/index.htm

I must admit I had NOT noticed any driveability issues and, frankly, would NOT have known this had failed but for the fact that I had decided to TAKE-OFF the wheels and wash them (and the wheel-wells etc.)

The rear-RIGHT appears to be fine -- but when I get this rear-LEFT looked at - I'm going to ask the wrench to check the tightness of the rear-right's locking collar - just to be safe.

Gerry

TheOtherEric

Unfortunately, this has been known to happen on Bilstein PSS9's. I've been advising people every chance I get to install a locknut both above and below the drop link mount. I had a problem with them rotating too, so I disassembled my shocks just to add the second nut. You can get them from Bilstein (who stubbornly refuses to acknowledge any issue here). A prior thread about it here:

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/314507-suspension-confession.html

Glad there was no serious damage!

AOW162435

Gerry,
That's not good. Where exactly is the groove you speaketh of?

I have two brand new lock rings that I purchased directly from Bilstein when I installed my M030/HD setup. Let me know if you are interested. They are unused.

Andreas

InTheAir

Gerry -

If you don't install the extra locknut like Eric suggests, at least make sure that the droplink is properly aligned vertically so that under load there won't be a twisting force on the lower perch. That twisting force is what causes the drop link to snap.

BTW, I think I see dirt on your shock! I'm so dissappointed.

Father of 3

Is this a problem unique to pss9's? What about the HDs?

g_murray

Hi Andreas,
No $hit!
The groove or 'gouge' (in the aluminum) is in the 'main' part to which all the bits n bobs attach to. It's the LARGE piece that sits behind the engine. I googled '993 suspension' (images) and found an appropriate pic. I placed an "X" where the gouge is. It's clearly caused by the attachment point of the shock absorber 'rotating around' towards the front of the car and then 'pistoning up and down'. Godddddammmit.
I sincerely appreciate your offer and will gladly take u up on it. I surmise that no amount of 'thread-lock' can take the place of both an upper AND lower collar lock.
Will PM you so we can take the exchange offline and I WANT to pay you for these!
I'm also going to get *two* new rear-droplinks from ViperBob (in case this happens again - I will not be left in such a bind.)
Gerry

Garth S

Looks as if you have HD's ... so take a look at the pic in post 15 or 19 in the link Eric posted. The second locknut really helps! You do need to do a slight bit of filing on the underside of the drop link perch to assure that the second locknut lies flat before final assembly.
If the scrape/gouge is on the rear main subframe, it is unlikely that the safety of longevity has been compromised.

Mike J

I have been running lock nuts on either side for over three years now...no movement at all. Cheap insurance and Bilstien should ship the PSS-9's this way!

As Garth pointed out, I had to slightly grind one of the tabs on the locknut for clearances...but they don't move once set so its no big deal.

Best of luck!

Cheers,

Mike

g_murray

Hi Jeff,
Yep, I took a looksee at the rear RIGHT and then re-read your DIY. The 'holes' for the bolts/connection points are supposed to be "in the same plane" (i.e. vertically - one above the other). The drop link clearly has a bit of 'articulation' but is predominantly an UP / DOWN affair. As said, the RIGHT (rear) droplink/shock is apparently OK.
When the shock-mounting/attachment point 'rotated around' (coz it was no longer held in place by the locking collar) it caused a shear-force to be applied to the top of the droplink - conequently causing it to fail/snap.
Re: the dirt -- good catch! thanx!
So as NOT to incur any more damage - I might just pay to have the car flat-bedded to the wrench (15 miles away). Kinda embarassing what with the nosey neighbors (who normally see me cleaning it and 'stick it to me verbally' about me "cleaning that damn car again") but I can suck it in and take my lumps.

Gerry

AOW162435

Gerry,
The rings will go out today.

Please use this recent pic as a guide for keeping your undercarriage clean:



And yes, I drive this car!



Andreas

g_murray

Thankyou VERY much Andreas and geez ...I'm impressed at your level of cleanliness.

(
I was thinking, myself, of 'silvering' the 'cooling-holes' that run around the perimeter of the brake rotors -- now that I see YOURS -- I now know I HAVE to do this! :-)
)


Gerry

AOW162435

Gerry,
I replaced the brakes a few months ago (rotors/pads/spiders/sensors). Before installing the rotors, I primed and painted the hats and perimeters. I believe I used a Dupli-color wheel paint (aluminum?). It's held up great after two long roadtrips and a few washes.

Andreas

Gus Sem

Gerry - thanks for the warning. I had my PSS9s installed 2 months ago. I've had one track event and I do enjoy the ride. I just checked my rear shocks and they're OK. I also noticed that there's a red line going down the shock over the grooves. I Think that may have been painted by my shop. Anyway, it will help in keeping an eye on any movement.

As for the abuse we get from neighbors for washing our cars - I take solice in enjoying the 911 driving experience when I like: "we know, they don't know"

Good luck with the repairs.
Gus

'95 911 C2 Black

2ndof2

I didn't have any extra locking parts when I had my PSS9s installed but I did have the tech mark the rear drop link mounts and a reference point on the threads with heavy permanent marker when he installed them.

The markings seem to be holding up well and I haven't seen any movement but I'm now wondering if the collars have a tendency to just move in one direction so that anything unusual would be immediately evident?

Stupid question but is it possible that the drop link mounts can twist and then return to the correct position?

FotoVeloce

WOW! Now I know why the JIC's come with lock collars for the sway tab. That looks like it would really suck. I'm going to check mine anyway to make sure they did not rotate while auto-x'ing on Sunday.